Deer Season - 2015

Just as practicing our Faith nourishes our soul, hunting, for our family, nourishes our bodies.  And it's nearly just as important to the well-being of our family.  This year we are so fortunate for the large deer harvest; our freezers are full.  Yes, I said freezers (plural); we filled 3 chest freezers and two above the fridge freezers.  And believe it or not, it'll all be gone by about next September.

If you're counting deer, you'll need to add two more because Nick shot two does, but I forgot to get pictures before they had them skun.  (Spell check is telling me skun is not a word, but skinned doesn't sound right either).

Wild meat isn't as tricky to cook with as one might think.  I've seen so many cookbooks claiming to have all the secrets.  I've been cooking with wild game for 19 years and have found that since it tends to be leaner than most farm raised animals, keeping the meat moist is very important.  For a few of our family favorites check out the links below.

Recipes to Use With Ground Venison

Recipe - Hug and Kiss Soup

And lest I make Nick feel forgotten by not mentioning his major contribution to our full freezer, I better say that he put 29 ducks and an unknown number of geese and squirrels in the freezer and frying pan as well.

I may try to post a few more wild game recipes to the blog soon.  Stay tuned.

Advent Week 2 ~ Peace

We ate by candle light for the 2nd time on Sunday evening.  It's so very peaceful for me; however, the kids don't feel the same way.  Truthfully, they whined a little about having to eat in the dark.  They actually said it reminded them of the pilgrims eating in the dark on the Mayflower so as not to see the bugs in their food.  Really?  They need to get a grip.  Anyway, last week we focused on HOPE.  We have hope because we trust in the Lord.  This week we focus on PEACE.  Our hearts can find peace because we have hope.

May you have a PEACEFUL week as you prepare for Christmas.

And for the record, sometimes peace is a little hard to come by around here.  Take for example last night's sing along.  Warren brought out his guitar and we had an impromptu sing along.  I caught a little footage of the moment (in the dark).  Most of the singing is drowned out by one child whistling and if you listen close enough you'll hear another child scolding the whistler.  

The lights turn on, the phone rings, the singers were a little off key.

Let there be PEACE on Earth!

Tis the Season to Shop.....or Not

Shopping, shopping, shopping!  This is the time of year for it.  Or is it?

As I made a Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping list, I was given a gentle reminder that all the gifts in the world don't make tiny tots happy.  See, as I was trying to decide on which tights Maria would like better and what type of gun Peter would like, plastic or wood, they had their own idea of what fun really is.  At first, their fun looked like a collection of trash bags from the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Really?  We have bins of animals, blocks, Duplos, cars, a play kitchen and I'm trying to decide what else to buy for their toy collection and they play with garbage.  

Once I took a closer look and asked, "What in the world are you doing?"  did I realize that this little game of theirs was actually quite sweet.  They were wrapping stuffed animals in plastic bags and tying them with rubberbands. These were all presents for me.  One look around and I counted 18 of these presents and they wanted me to open each and every one.  I obliged with oohs and aahs and then convinced them to help me with the clean up of all the bags, rubberbands, and stuffed animals.

Little kids don't need much.  Save your money for those big kids with big wants.  After this little escapade I tossed the Black Friday list and decided to keep Christmas VERY simple for our little ones.  Simple for them translates to simple for me.  A win-win!

HAPPY ADVENT

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.  Desmond Tutu

First Snow

We've had a few flakes, but nothing that's really accumulated.  Until today!  We woke to a couple of inches of wet snow.  So after a morning of lessons, laundry, and lunch (warming in the crockpot) we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  It was quite wet, and didn't lend itself to fast sledding, but we still had fun.

Fuel for us.

Fuel for the horses.

The girls convinced Nick to help them place Christmas lights on the barn.  They've been wanting to do this for years.  I'm happy for them and am excited to see it tonight.

The weather forecast is calling for another warming trend, so it looks like the snow will be gone by Friday night.  This snow has helped to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.  I've been thinking about gifts and cookies and wrapping and appetizers and decorations.  Trying to keep my focus on Advent, though.  I placed the Advent wreath on the dining table and we are lighting the HOPE candle at dinner each evening and praying:

O Lord, stir up our hearts

that we may prepare for

your only begotten Son,

that through His coming,

we may be made worthy to 

serve you with pure souls.

Through the same Christ

our Lord.

Amen.

Happy Advent to you all.

Thanksgiving Books

Christmas is everywhere!  But let's not forget about Thanksgiving before diving head first into Advent and Christmas planning.

One of my favorite homeschool-ish things to do is choose books according to a particular theme.  This week (and last week) we've been reading lots of Thanksgiving themed books.  I know it's almost too late to get your hands on these books for this year, but it doesn't hurt to check at the library.   If you're looking to calm the cousins on Turkey Day maybe an engaging book will do the trick.

Need to know a little more about cranberries? 

Cranberry Thanksgiving - A classic tale I pull out every Thanksgiving.  Not much about cranberries, though.

Time For Cranberries - A very new favorite around here.  Just published this fall, written by my neighbor.  Tells the story of Sam and how his family harvests cranberries every fall.  Recipes in the back.

Cranberries From A to Z - Again written by a once local author, who has since moved from the area.  This has a rhyming text and lots of information about cranberries, wildlife, and harvesting.

Our favorites from the library.  These are definitely on my wish list to own.

Sharing the Bread - Hands down, this is the favorite of all the books in this post.  Rhyming text, very engaging.  Tells the story of a family ALL working together to get ready for the Thanksgiving Meal.  Everyone has a job:  Father stokes the cookstove, Grandfather cooks the berries, Grandmother bakes the pie.  Sister kneads the bread.  Everyone WORKS together.  And they all sit down at the end of the day to a delicious dinner.  I've read this book at least 50 times in the past week.

 Sophie's Squash - Story about a little girl, Sophie, who befriends a squash and names it Bernice.  Things get difficult when Bernice starts to get splotchy and the kids at the library harass her about her friend.  Everything works out in the end when Sophie finds two more friends to love.  Quirky, but sweet.  I've probably read this about 30 times.  Maria carries this book under her arm begging anyone to read "Ophie's Kwash".

In November - Nice book about November's nature and the warmth of Thanksgiving.

All About Turkeys - Why not learn a little about turkeys before eating turkey?  If you have an animal lover, any of the Jim Arnosky All About...... books will be sure to please.  We own many of these books and they are simply excellent educational books with beautiful illustrations. *I see this book is out of print and therefore used copies are very expensive.

Autumnblings - A book of poetry about autumn.  Fall leaves, Indian summer, pumpkins, owls, first frost, and of course, Thanksgiving.

Those Darn Squirrels - Fun book about Old Man Fookwire, his love of birds, his despise of squirrels, and how those darn squirrels won over his heart.

Oh, What a Thanksgiving - Very traditional book about pilgrims and indians.  Quite a bit of text for the youngest crowd.

A Child's Calendar - Another book I pull out to read the poem of the month.  Each month is condensed to a one page poem.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hadn't planned on being gone from the blog for an entire month, but life happens.  I'm glad to be back.

*All Amazon links are affiliate links.  If you click through and purchase any item (not just these books) I receive a small commission.  Thank you.